Do you think 14.5-15 is the most difficult age for boys?

[Anonymous]

I have 2 teens. I thought 13 was worst for both - 8th grade. Both are decent in high school.

[Anonymous]

Firstborn son- 20; college sophomore. Always polite, forthcoming, sweet. Zero issues,

Current HS senior- end of 8th grade (14) was rough, pushing boundaries. I didn’t like the friend group. Went to a private HS- so easy and smooth; just sports and school.

Currently- it’s feeling like the end of 8th grade. 17 years old. A bit of talk back. A bit of I’ll be 18 soon stuff. More secrets. Though starting to come out if that bit this month. He still can be sweet- but moody.

The younger one def had delayed puberty and I think that’s why we are seeing more now. Hormones.

I got lucky that both always did very well in school- all As w/out us ever having to push.

I do think my 2nd one has a greater chance of going off the rails in college because his personality has always been more adventurous, etc. we are focusing on instilling good habits now—about sleep habits, phone use, etc., so when he’s on his own some will stick.

[Anonymous]

8th and 9th grade were awful for my son. So bad, we were concerned at one point he wouldn’t even graduate. 10th was significantly better and 11th and 12th were great.

[Anonymous]

Mine is almost 16 and I am still waiting for the difficult part. He has inattentive-type ADHD, so that can be (and always has been) frustrating, but he is a really sweet kid 98% of the time.

[Anonymous]

I think 12 to 16 is most difficult regardless of gender with peak intensity from 13 to 15..

[Anonymous]

How are you all defining "difficult?"

My 13-year-old boys does well in school and has excellent executive function but he's selfish, overly concerned about other people's opinions, and grumpy and surly when there's absolutely no cause for it.

I assume this comes with the territory. I keep hoping he'll grow up and start showing some generosity and goodwill toward humans.

[Anonymous]

9th grade was rough, lots of poor impulse control regarding partying. New school and went from being a nerdy middle schooler to a cool kid with a fast paced scene. Mostly the same friends still in senior year but they’ve all calmed down so much

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How are you all defining "difficult?"

My 13-year-old boys does well in school and has excellent executive function but he's selfish, overly concerned about other people's opinions, and grumpy and surly when there's absolutely no cause for it.

I assume this comes with the territory. I keep hoping he'll grow up and start showing some generosity and goodwill toward humans.

Difficult was being disrespectful, swearing at us, refusing to do anything we asked, common courtesy to the rest of the family, skipping classes. Punching an occasional hole in his bedroom wall. This was 8th and 9th. I’m the one that said 10th got better and he really became a different person by 11th grade. He was great by the end of it. Even by the end of 10th there was a huge difference.

We worked with him a lot but the biggest difference was getting through puberty and hormones regulating.